DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Response to Amendment
Applicant’s amendment filed on June 3, 2026 has been entered. Claims 1, 5-9 and 13-20 have been amended. No claims are canceled. No claims have been added. Claims 1-20 are still pending in this application, with claims 1, 9 and 17 being independent.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-2, 4-6, 8-10, 12-14, 16-18 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Abedini et al. (U.S. PGPub 2023/0269736), hereinafter referred to as Abedini.
Regarding claim 1, Abedini discloses a method comprising:
receiving, by a smart node (SN) (configurable repeater; See Fig. 4, #406) communication unit (CU) (mobile terminal; See Fig. 4, #406a), from a base station (BS) (base station; See Fig. 4, #402), a beam indication for one or more beams with a time duration (The base station may transmit, and the MT 506a and UE 504 may receive, RU configuration parameter sets 508A. The RU configuration parameter sets 508, in some aspects, include parameter sets indicating one or more of beamforming configurations for transmission and reception, a transmission power configuration (e.g., in terms of DL and/or UL transmission power, an absolute/maximum/minimum power, or an absolute/maximum/minimum amplification gain), an on-off schedule, or a time-domain resource allocation; See [0069]-[0070]), wherein receiving the beam indication indicates to activate a SN forwarding unit (FU) (repeater unit; See Fig. 4, #406b) to an on state to support at least signal transmission to a user equipment (UE) or reception from the UE for the time duration (The included On-Off schedule indicates times at which the RU may be inactive. Based on the received configuration information and/or the received configuration indication, the RU may configure an amplifier 418, an Rx array 420 and/or a Tx array 430 to facilitate communication between the base station 402 and the UE 404; See [0068]); and
activating, by the SN CU, responsive to receiving the beam indication, the SN FU to maintain the SN FU in the on state over the time duration (Based on the received configuration information and/or the received configuration indication, the RU may configure an amplifier 418, an Rx array 420 and/or a Tx array 430 to facilitate communication between the base station 402 and the UE 404, wherein the “on” part of the schedule indicates when the SN FU would be activated; See [0068] and [0072]).
Regarding claim 2, Abedini further discloses the method of claim 1, comprising:
deactivating the SN FU to an off state when outside of the time duration (The included On-Off schedule indicates times at which the RU may be inactive; See [0068]).
Regarding claim 4, Abedini further discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the beam indication with the time duration is received from the BS via at least one of radio resource control (RRC) signaling (The RU configuration indication 510A may be received via DCI; See [0072]) or downlink control information (DCI) signaling.
Regarding claim 5, Abedini further discloses the method of claim 2, wherein deactivating the SN FU to the off state when outside of the time duration comprises disabling transmitting and receiving operations of the SN FU when outside of the time duration (The included On-Off schedule indicates times at which the RU may be inactive; See [0068]).
Regarding claim 6, Abedini further discloses the method of claim 1, wherein maintaining the SN FU in the on state over the time duration when the SN FU is activated comprises enabling signal forwarding of the SN FU until the SN FU is deactivated to an off state (The included On-Off schedule indicates times at which the RU may be inactive; See [0068]).
Regarding claim 8, Abedini further discloses the method of claim 1, wherein an SN, comprising the SN CU (See Fig. 4, #406a) and the SN FU (See Fig. 4, #406b), comprises a network controlled repeater (network-controlled repeater; See Fig. 4, #406 and [0066]), and the SN CU comprises a mobile terminal (MT) (mobile terminal; See Fig. 4, #406a).
Regarding claim 9, Abedini discloses a smart node (SN) (configurable repeater; See Fig. 4, #406) communication unit (CU) (mobile terminal; See Fig. 4, #406a), comprising: at least one processor (baseband processor; See Fig 4, #422) configured to:
receive, via a receiver of the SN CU, from a base station (BS), a beam indication for one or more beams with a time duration (The base station may transmit, and the MT 506a and UE 504 may receive, RU configuration parameter sets 508A. The RU configuration parameter sets 508, in some aspects, include parameter sets indicating one or more of beamforming configurations for transmission and reception, a transmission power configuration (e.g., in terms of DL and/or UL transmission power, an absolute/maximum/minimum power, or an absolute/maximum/minimum amplification gain), an on-off schedule, or a time-domain resource allocation; See [0069]-[0070]), wherein receiving the beam indication indicates to activate a SN forwarding unit (FU) (repeater unit; See Fig. 4, #406b) to an on state to support at least signal transmission to a user equipment (UE) or reception from the UE for the time duration (The included On-Off schedule indicates times at which the RU may be inactive. Based on the received configuration information and/or the received configuration indication, the RU may configure an amplifier 418, an Rx array 420 and/or a Tx array 430 to facilitate communication between the base station 402 and the UE 404; See [0068]); and
activate, responsive to receiving the beam indication, the SN FU to maintain the SN FU in the on state over the time duration (Based on the received configuration information and/or the received configuration indication, the RU may configure an amplifier 418, an Rx array 420 and/or a Tx array 430 to facilitate communication between the base station 402 and the UE 404, wherein the “on” part of the schedule indicates when the SN FU would be activated; See [0068] and [0072]).
Regarding claim 10, Abedini further discloses the SN CU of claim 9, wherein the at least one processor is configured to:
deactivate the SN FU to an off state when outside of the time duration (The included On-Off schedule indicates times at which the RU may be inactive; See [0068]).
Regarding claim 12, Abedini further discloses the SN CU of claim 9, wherein the beam indication with the time duration is received from the BS via at least one of radio resource control (RRC) signaling (The RU configuration indication 510A may be received via DCI; See [0072]) or downlink control information (DCI) signaling.
Regarding claim 13, Abedini further discloses the SN CU of claim 10, wherein to deactivate the SN FU to an off state when outside of the time duration, the at least one processor is configured to disable transmitting and receiving operations of the SN FU when outside of the time duration (The included On-Off schedule indicates times at which the RU may be inactive; See [0068]).
Regarding claim 14, Abedini further discloses the SN CU of claim 9, wherein to maintain the SN FU in the on state over the time duration when the SN FU is activated, the at least one processor is configured to enable signal forwarding of the SN FU until the SN FU is deactivated to an off state (The included On-Off schedule indicates times at which the RU may be inactive; See [0068]).
Regarding claim 16, Abedini further discloses the SN CU of claim 9, wherein an SN, comprising the SN CU (See Fig. 4, #406a) and the SN FU (See Fig. 4, #406b), comprises a network controlled repeater (network-controlled repeater; See Fig. 4, #406 and [0066]), and the SN CU is a mobile terminal (MT) (mobile terminal; See Fig. 4, #406a).
Regarding claim 17, Abedini discloses a base station (See Fig. 13, #1302), comprising:
at least one processor (baseband unit; See Fig. 13, #1304) configured to:
send, via a transmitter to a smart node (SN) communication unit (CU) (mobile terminal; See Fig. 4, #406a), a beam indication for one or more beams with a time duration (The base station may transmit, and the MT 506a and UE 504 may receive, RU configuration parameter sets 508A. The RU configuration parameter sets 508, in some aspects, include parameter sets indicating one or more of beamforming configurations for transmission and reception, a transmission power configuration (e.g., in terms of DL and/or UL transmission power, an absolute/maximum/minimum power, or an absolute/maximum/minimum amplification gain), an on-off schedule, or a time-domain resource allocation; See [0069]-[0070]), wherein the SN CU receiving the beam indication indicates to activate a SN forwarding unit (FU) (repeater unit; See Fig. 4, #406b) of an SN to an on state to support at least signal transmission to a user equipment (UE) or reception from the UE for the time duration (The included On-Off schedule indicates times at which the RU may be inactive. Based on the received configuration information and/or the received configuration indication, the RU may configure an amplifier 418, an Rx array 420 and/or a Tx array 430 to facilitate communication between the base station 402 and the UE 404; See [0068]),
wherein responsive to the beam indication being receive, the SN FU is activated by the SN CU to maintain the SN FU in the on state over the time duration (Based on the received configuration information and/or the received configuration indication, the RU may configure an amplifier 418, an Rx array 420 and/or a Tx array 430 to facilitate communication between the base station 402 and the UE 404, wherein the “on” part of the schedule indicates when the SN FU would be activated; See [0068] and [0072]).
Regarding claim 18, Abedini further discloses the base station of claim 17, wherein the SN FU is deactivated to an off state when outside of the time duration (The included On-Off schedule indicates times at which the RU may be inactive; See [0068]).
Regarding claim 20, Abedini further discloses the base station of claim 17, wherein an SN, comprising the SN CU (See Fig. 4, #406a) and the SN FU (See Fig. 4, #406b), comprises a network controlled repeater (network-controlled repeater; See Fig. 4, #406 and [0066]), and the SN CU is a mobile terminal (MT) (mobile terminal; See Fig. 4, #406a).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 3, 11 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Abedini as applied to claims 1, 9 and 17 above, and further in view of Awadin et al. (U.S. PGPub 2023/0327735), hereinafter referred to as Awadin.
Regarding claim 3, Abedini fails to teach the method of claim 1, wherein the time duration corresponds to symbol level.
Awadin teaches wherein the time duration corresponds to symbol level (An aspect of the disclosure is to provide the repeater with time domain information of the symbols occupied by different channels. For the time domain information, the gNB may indicate to the repeater which symbols/slots/subframes carrying the RSs for a P2 procedure are used in beam management. The gNB may indicate, to the repeater, the starting symbol and number of symbols of each RS used for beam management.; See [0028] and [0091]).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time before the effective filing date of the invention, to modify the method of Abedini to include wherein the time duration corresponds to symbol level taught by Awadin in order to improve beam management.
Regarding claim 11, Abedini fails to teach the SN CU of claim 9, wherein the time duration corresponds to symbol level.
Awadin teaches wherein the time duration corresponds to symbol level (An aspect of the disclosure is to provide the repeater with time domain information of the symbols occupied by different channels. For the time domain information, the gNB may indicate to the repeater which symbols/slots/subframes carrying the RSs for a P2 procedure are used in beam management. The gNB may indicate, to the repeater, the starting symbol and number of symbols of each RS used for beam management.; See [0028] and [0091]).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time before the effective filing date of the invention, to modify the apparatus of Abedini to include wherein the time duration corresponds to symbol level taught by Awadin in order to improve beam management.
Regarding claim 19, Abedini fails to teach the base station of claim 17, wherein the time duration corresponds to symbol level.
Awadin teaches wherein the time duration corresponds to symbol level (An aspect of the disclosure is to provide the repeater with time domain information of the symbols occupied by different channels. For the time domain information, the gNB may indicate to the repeater which symbols/slots/subframes carrying the RSs for a P2 procedure are used in beam management. The gNB may indicate, to the repeater, the starting symbol and number of symbols of each RS used for beam management.; See [0028] and [0091]).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time before the effective filing date of the invention, to modify the apparatus of Abedini to include wherein the time duration corresponds to symbol level taught by Awadin in order to improve beam management.
Claims 7 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Abedini as applied to claims 1 and 9 above, and further in view of Kumagai et al. (U.S. PGPub 2025/0133416), hereinafter referred to as Kumagai.
Regarding claim 7, Abedini fails to teach the method of claim 1, further comprising, in response to an SN, comprising the SN CU and the SN FU, being in a radio resource control (RRC) idle state, deactivating the SN FU to an off state.
Kumagai teaches wherein in response to the SN being in a radio resource control (RRC) idle state, deactivating the SN FU to an off state (The wireless relay device 30 is not required to reflect/radiate a signal from the base station 10 and the terminal 20 in a state in which the reflection/radiation function is deactivated. The period in which the reflection/radiation function is deactivated may be a period in which the RRC state with respect to the base station 10 is an RRC idle state or an RRC inactive state, or may be a period in which the RRC state with respect to the terminal 20 is an RRC idle state or an RRC inactive state; See [0334]).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time before the effective filing date of the invention, to modify the method of Abedini to include in response to an SN, comprising the SN CU and the SN FU, being in a radio resource control (RRC) idle state, deactivating the SN FU to an off state taught by Kumagai in order to enhance beam management.
Regarding claim 15, Abedini fails to teach the SN CU of claim 9, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to, in response to an SN, comprising the SN CU and the SN FU, being in a radio resource control (RRC) idle state, deactivate the SN FU to an off state.
Kumagai teaches wherein in response to the SN being in a radio resource control (RRC) idle state, deactivating the SN FU to an off state (The wireless relay device 30 is not required to reflect/radiate a signal from the base station 10 and the terminal 20 in a state in which the reflection/radiation function is deactivated. The period in which the reflection/radiation function is deactivated may be a period in which the RRC state with respect to the base station 10 is an RRC idle state or an RRC inactive state, or may be a period in which the RRC state with respect to the terminal 20 is an RRC idle state or an RRC inactive state; See [0334]).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time before the effective filing date of the invention, to modify the apparatus of Abedini to include wherein in response to the SN, comprising the SN CU, being in a radio resource control (RRC) idle state, deactivating the SN FU to an off state taught by Kumagai in order to enhance beam management.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed June 3, 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
On pages 5-7 of the Applicants’ Response, Applicants state that Abedini et al. (U.S. PGPub 2023/0269736), hereinafter referred to as Abedini fails to teach an SN CU that (i) receives a beam indication for one or more beams with a time duration, where receiving such beam indication actually indicates to activate an SN FU to an on state to support at least signal transmission to a UE or reception from the UE for the time duration, and (ii) then activates the SN FU to maintain the SN FU in the on state over the time duration responsive to receiving the beam indication.
Examiner respectfully disagrees in that the Examiner has interpreted the RU configuration parameter set information as the beam indication as it comprises the beamforming configurations and the on/off schedule for the RU, which is interpreted as the claimed forwarding unit (The base station may transmit, and the MT 506a and UE 504 may receive, RU configuration parameter sets 508A. The RU configuration parameter sets 508, in some aspects, include parameter sets indicating one or more of beamforming configurations for transmission and reception, a transmission power configuration (e.g., in terms of DL and/or UL transmission power, an absolute/maximum/minimum power, or an absolute/maximum/minimum amplification gain), an on-off schedule, or a time-domain resource allocation; See [0069]-[0070]). The claim doesn’t specifically limit the beam indication to something that is specifically defined within the specification and thus using the broadest reasonable interpretation, the configuration information applies.
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Conclusion
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/ASHLEY SHIVERS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2477 6/13/2026
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